Switching mechanisms for electrical connections currently are divided into solid-state based switching devices (triacs, etc.) that switch very fast but have the disadvantage of being inefficient, losing between 1-2% of the power sent through them as heat, and mechanical based relays that switch much slower but are much more efficient with minimal heat loss. Many devices use solid state switches or mechanical relays to control electricity with the advantages and drawbacks noted above. Regardless of the type of switch, solid-state or mechanical relay, in many applications, either or both transfer time and efficiency are important, and may be critical.
A key example is in intelligent power management of receptacles in the home and office, where “cycle-stealing” is used as described in “SMART ELECTRICAL OUTLETS AND ASSOCIATED NETWORKS”, referenced above. Such cycle stealing relates to operation in a reduced power mode by eliminating half cycles (or integer multiples thereof) of the delivered power signal, preferably by switching synchronized with zero crossings of the power signal. This may be done, for example, to implement intelligent brown-outs in the case of power shortages. The relay needed for the application must be fast and efficient, because it must actuate quickly and also must function in an environment (for example inside a single-gang receptacle box) where cooling is limited.
Another example is the design and management of power distribution in data centers because the power supplies used in modern Electronic Data Processing (EDP) equipment can often only tolerate very brief power interruptions. For example, the Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (CBEMA) guidelines used in power supply design recommend a maximum outage of 20 milliseconds or less. This is a very important issue in the design of automatic transfer switches (ATS), for switching between two or more power sources (e.g., due to power failures such as outages or power quality issues), as well as other power distribution devices used with EPD equipment. There are many other examples of devices incorporating electricity, where the speed and/or efficiency of the switching function is an important issue and improvements in these areas would be of great benefit.